Brigade’s new base

By Kelly Yates
The Narre Warren Fire Brigade is gearing up for the long-awaited move from their Fullard Road site after Casey Council granted the application on 28 April to set up at the location at 292 Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road.
General manager of the Western Port Area Peter Schmidt told the News the CFA had been looking for a suitable site for the past eight years.
“The new site is the ideal location as it takes into account the future growth in the area and road networks, enabling the firefighters to provide an enhanced level of service to the community,” he said.
Mr Schmidt said he was pleased with the council’s decision, despite hearing some local residents wanted to lodge an appeal with VCAT.
“We believe council’s decision is correct in terms of supporting community safety into the future,” he said.
Residents opposing the decision had 21 days to lodge the appeal to VCAT and according to Mr Schmidt, the brigade had not been notified of any further developments.
He said to their knowledge the project would be going ahead.
The new fire station is set to have a modern structural design, with room for three fire trucks.
Mr Schmidt said the move came as a result of the brigade needing a larger station.
“The current site is totally inadequate to service the area,” he said.
“We feel we’ve now found the right location and it’s the right decision for the broader community.”
From July 2008 up until May this year, the Narre Warren Fire Brigade attended 615 incidents.